OPEC+ Regular Ministerial Meeting
"Measures to Stabilize the Global Crude Oil Market"
Saudi Arabia has decided to cut crude oil production by an additional 1 million barrels per day starting next month to support oil prices. Major member countries of the oil-producing nations' group 'OPEC Plus (OPEC+)' have agreed to extend the voluntary production cut period until the end of next year.
According to major foreign media on the 4th (local time), OPEC+ issued a statement containing this information after its regular ministerial meeting that day. OPEC+ refers to the consultative group of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and major non-OPEC oil-producing countries such as Russia.
OPEC+ agreed to reduce daily crude oil production to 40.46 million barrels from January next year, which is 1.4 million barrels less than the current level.
Saudi Arabia announced it will reduce its daily crude oil production from 10 million barrels in May to 9 million barrels in July. This is a follow-up measure following the voluntary cut of 500,000 barrels per day that began last month.
Russia also decided on the same day to extend the voluntary production cut period until the end of next year after starting a voluntary cut of 500,000 barrels per day in March.
Other OPEC+ countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), also agreed to continue suppressing crude oil production until the end of next year. OPEC+ accounts for 40% of the world's crude oil production.
OPEC+ stated that the production cut measures are decisions aimed at stabilizing the global crude oil market.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak explained to reporters on the day, "There was no difference of opinion with Saudi Arabia in deciding the crude oil production policy."
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "This measure came amid rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's largest oil producers," adding, "Although both sides had previously agreed on production cuts, Russia's large supply of cheap crude oil to the market weakened Saudi Arabia's efforts to support energy prices."
Earlier, OPEC+ member countries agreed in October last year to cut production by 2 million barrels per day, and in April this year, some member countries decided to implement additional voluntary cuts. Combining the voluntary cuts led by Saudi Arabia and Russia with the existing cuts amounts to a total of 3.66 million barrels per day, which corresponds to 4% of global oil demand.
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